Fire and Flames
by momothelemur
Summary: Zuko and Katara's fight brings the building down around them...and guess who Katara blames? Oneshot


Avatar the Last Airbender belongs to Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko. Or Bryke, if you will. Either way, it isn't mine.

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**A/N: I'm going to have to screw with continuity a little bit here, guys. Here, Iroh's tea shop in the Upper Ring opened a few days before the Gaang headed their separate ways (Aang to the Guru, Sokka to Chameleon Bay, etc.) Hopefully you tolerate me enough to let me mess with the time continuum (:**

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"I didn't come this far to lose to you," Zuko informed her coldly, hurling a stream of flames her way.

"So you've said before," Katara answered, throwing a wall of water to stop the fire in its path.

"And I was right," Zuko reminded her, his lips curling up slightly at the edges as he threw another attack that his opponent immediately counteracted. "Back in the North Pole, I _didn't_ lose to you."

"No, that part came about two hours later."

Zuko scowled while Katara silently congratulated herself. _Let's see him come back to that one!_

They continued their fight in silence, and Katara contemplated what had led up to this.

It had been a normal day in Ba Sing Se. The sun was shining, the city was lively and her brother Sokka was fast asleep on the couch, his mouth hanging open as he snored loudly. Never mind that it was four in the afternoon. Never mind that he had chores to do. Never mind that his dutiful little sister had once _again _had to go out and do the food shopping so that they wouldn't starve.

Well, maybe 'starve' was a little bit dramatic. But she wouldn't entertain Sokka's lazy suggestion to 'eat Momo' if they ran out of food. Besides, she'd enjoyed wandering around the city, huge as it was. She'd even bought a little gift from a tourist shop called The Four Nations: a small carving of the Water Tribe symbol made from the same blue stone as the pendant that hung around her neck. She figured she'd give it to Sokka on his next birthday. Or the next time he spent a whole day awake. Both would be quite a momentous occasion.

But she'd lost track of time. It was unlike her to be irresponsible like this; she was usually the one reminding everyone to be home on time, wrap up warmly, and so on. As soon as the skies started getting darker, she quickened her footsteps and managed to get to the Upper Ring faster than she thought her legs could carry her. So when she passed the much-talked about tea shop, The Jasmine Dragon, she didn't see the harm in stopping for a quick cup.

The shop was bustling, filled with happy people sipping tea and nodding at each other with pleasantly surprised expressions on their faces. They chattered and laughed, completely unaware of the war raging on in the real world.

Preparing to lose herself in the same ignorance, Katara glanced around the room, wondering if she had to wait to be seated. The only tea server she could see had his back to her, and she was halfway through calling out 'excuse me!' when he turned around.

Looking back on it as she dodged a well-placed rain of fiery bullets, Katara should have just bypassed the tea shop and gone straight back. Because when the tea server turned around to reveal the young man that she and her friends had been running from these past few months, she knew that it couldn't end well. As Zuko looked up disinterestedly from the tray he was carrying, Katara's eyes widened and her world slowed down. She could feel her heart beating slowly and blood pumped its way around her body so loudly that it was all she could hear.

Zuko.

Zuko was here.

Zuko was here, in Ba Sing Se…working in a tea shop, bizarrely, but she'd deal with that later.

The moment Zuko's eyes met hers, everything resumed its normal pace. As he noticed her, his own eyes betrayed his shock. His lips parted as though he was about to say something, not that Katara, all the way on the other side of the room - near the exit, thank the Spirits - would've been able to hear it.

She didn't stay to find out what his further reaction would be. She turned on her heel and ran, her sandals smashing into the ground as she sprinted away. She distantly heard a tray crashing to the ground and the breaking of cups, as well as an irritated crowd that sounded as though they were being shoved out of the way. But that could've just been her imagination. After all, Zuko wouldn't be so stupid as to actually chase after her just as the sun was setting.

Just in case, she flung a swift backwards glance at the busy street she had just ran through. She almost stumbled in shock when she saw Zuko not far behind her, that determined look she knew and hated set firmly on his face as he ran.

As ever, she'd underestimated the Fire Prince's ability to find the most stupid option and decide that that was the one for him.

Katara's mind switched instantly to the situation at hand. She had to prevent an outright attack on the streets of Ba Sing Se; aside from being dangerous for the citizens around them, who knew where Long Feng chose to keep his minions? They could be carted off for reprogramming, or whatever was really going on inside the walls of the city. This meant leading Zuko away from the main streets and squares and into somewhere with less potential causalities…but where? Argh, it was difficult to think while running!

After a moment that seemed so much longer than it actually was, Katara skidded to a halt outside a row of seemingly abandoned shops. There was only a couple of people milling around outside, probably the best she was going to get considering the time. Making sure she had her water pouch close at hand to defend herself with, she waited until she knew Zuko could see her going into the empty shop and hastened to brace herself for an attack.

When none came, she scowled into the open doorway. If Zuko was trying to catch her off-guard, it wouldn't work. Keeping the water from her pouch ready for a water whip attack, she waited. And waited. And then waited some more.

"Look, I know you're there!" she called out irritably after a few more moments of silence. Her voice echoed slightly in the dusty shop that, wouldn't you know it, contained a few shelves of cracked pottery that would make a _lovely_ mess if a fight happened near them.

"I don't want to fight," a voice said quietly behind her.

Katara almost lost control of her bending as she jumped. She whipped around, keeping the water poised in case Zuko was trying to trick her. She didn't put anything past him.

"How did you get in here?" she demanded, taking a few steps back to distance herself from him, all the while keeping her eyes firmly trained on his.

"Through the back," he replied cautiously. "I wasn't about to walk in the obvious way and have you jump to conclusions."

"I don't have to jump," Katara said, her eyes narrowing. "I never have to jump. Conclusions are always just a tiny step away with you."

Instead of answering, Zuko summoned up his own weapon of choice: a sphere of flames that he controlled carefully between his palms.

"I wouldn't," Katara warned, making the water flex in what she hoped was a menacing fashion, although it was kind of difficult to make flexing water intimidating. In reality, it probably looked quite ridiculous. "Why are you here?"

"I followed you."

"I meant, in Ba Sing Se," Katara clarified, itching to attack him but restraining herself. If she could sort the problem out without using violence, good. Boring, but good. "Give it up with trying to catch Aang. It isn't happening."

"Maybe that isn't why I'm here."

Katara scoffed and shook her head. "Maybe you're lying."

Zuko shrugged, and Katara wondered if she no longer found him threatening because she had fought him once before or because he was still wearing an apron.

Deciding that this little conversation was going nowhere fast, she made up her mind that it was time to leave. She'd get back to the house, inform everyone of the Fire Prince's presence and they'd figure out what to do from there. But leaving wouldn't be easy; she'd have to fight her way out.

Which was how she found herself embroiled in a fight with her enemy in the middle of a disused pottery shop.

"Uncle and I are just trying to start a new life here," Zuko told her, blocking her attack with ease.

"Strangely, I don't believe you," Katara replied with a scowl. "I don't know what your plan is this time, but I'm going to go out on a limb and say that it won't work." With each attack she blocked and every hit she landed, she felt more confident. "Things are different now. _We're_ the ones with the power in this city." Well, not really, but he didn't need to know that. "I won't let you hurt my family again."

"The Avatar isn't part of your family," Zuko muttered, apparently angered by the thought. "He's just a kid you found in a block of ice."

"He's like a brother," Katara snapped back, her frown turning into a sneer. "And what would _you_ know about family?"

The fire in his hands intensified with Katara's words, and she immediately got the horrible sinking feeling that she'd said the wrong thing. Indeed, Zuko's attacks became more fervent as his anger rose.

"We're building a new life in Ba Sing Se," Zuko told her, deathly calm despite his rage. "I don't care about the Avatar anymore, but I didn't come this far to lose to you."

She retorted and he snapped back, and this formed their fighting pattern for a minute more. Katara dodged a particularly lethal-looking bout of flames that smacked into a wooden beam behind her. She ignored it and continued the fight, not stopping even when she noticed how warm the room around her had gotten. There was a sharp cracking sound behind her, and suddenly the flaming beam gave way, crashing to the ground just feet from where she stood.

Katara spun around and stared at the fallen beam for a moment before slowly lifting her eyes up to the ceiling. Fire still burned, spreading quickly to the roof and down the walls.

"Way to go!" Katara commended sarcastically, shooting Zuko a glare before directing the water she controlled up towards the spitting flames.

"We need to get out!" Zuko shouted over the sound of ten misshapen pottery vases crashing to the floor. "Even if you put the fire out, the building could still collapse!"

There was probably truth in his words, but Katara at least had to try. Making a show of turning her back on him, Katara continued in her efforts.

"Do you think splashing a bit of water solves everything?" Zuko yelled over the roar of the quickly spreading fire.

He knew he couldn't wait for the Waterbender to change her mind. She was too damn stubborn to admit he was actually right. Knowing that she'd probably kill him for it later, he bounded forward and took her by the arm, dragging her away just as more pottery smashed.

He all but pushed her out the back entrance, stumbling slightly as he went. Judging by the intensity of the fire, they didn't have long until the building caved in on itself and they weren't standing far away enough to escape any debris that could fly out.

"We need to get away from here," he muttered, his eyes cautiously on the building.

"I'm not going-"

"What's wrong with you?" Zuko demanded, thoroughly frustrated as he rounded on her. "It's almost like you _want_ to be crushed!"

The heat was beginning to stifle him, so he could only imagine what it was like for someone from the South Pole. Once again armed with the knowledge that his next action would only anger the girl more, he took her wrist and ran, forcing her to run with him until they were a safe enough distance away.

"I don't suppose you'd believe me if I told you that was for your own good?" Zuko asked, although he already knew the answer.

"Not a chance."

"Okay."

"You can let go of my wrist now."

At her tone and narrowed eyes, Zuko dropped her wrist as though it scalded him. Oh, the irony.

The second he dropped her wrist, Katara distanced herself from the Fire Prince and instinctively reached towards her water pouch. Her heart sank when she found it empty.

"No water left?" Zuko asked in mock-sympathy. "You shouldn't have wasted it trying to put the fire out."

"It wasn't wasted," Katara hissed, her eyes darting from side to side for a form of escape. There were narrow gaps between the houses, but that was it. Unless she made a run for it, of course. "The shop's still stand-"

The wood that formed the skeleton of the shop a few yards in front of them seemed to sigh lightly before an almost deafening splintering noise tore across the sky. The sigh turned to a groan as the building caved in on itself. Soon, all that remained of the fire Zuko had accidentally started was the cinders blowing in the breeze around them.

Zuko turned to her, an 'I told you so' look etched deeply onto his face.

"You were saying?"

But Katara's wide eyes were fixed on the smouldering pile of rubble. She walked up to it slowly, barely even acknowledging that Zuko was letting her pass.

How close had she come to being under all of this? Smashed fragments of pottery littered the ground, and Katara realized that they alone could have caused her serious damage. She had come to close to death, and all just to prove Zuko wrong.

Zuko.

He could've left her there, but he had ignored her selfish protestations and saved her anyway. She was grateful, but she would never tell him that. Or maybe that was her pride getting in the way again.

"We should probably not tell anyone about this," Zuko murmured, coming a stop beside her as he too looked at the obliterated shop.

"Agreed." She shuffled uncomfortably. "Zuko, I-"

"You don't have to say it," Zuko interrupted, glancing up at her with a slight smile on his lips. "I know it would probably kill you to actually thank me."

Katara nodded gratefully.

"Just…promise me something."

Katara's guard flew back up. This didn't sound promising. She turned towards Zuko fully, crossed her arms and waited. Zuko faced her.

"Don't tell anyone that Uncle and I are in Ba Sing Se," he requested softly, rubbing his hands nervously as he waited for her answer.

Katara frowned and shook her head. "I can't do that." She didn't meet his eyes. "I still don't trust you." She almost felt bad for saying it after he had saved her life, but there it was. She wasn't about to sacrifice Aang's safety. "I'm sorry."

"If the Earth King knows we're here, we'd get thrown out of the city faster than you can blink. Then there'd be nowhere to go but back to Azula."

He turned back to the rubble, his eyes unreadable. Katara surveyed him for a long time, weighing up her choices. She would never put her family in harm's way, but if there was a way to repay Zuko…

"I have to tell my friends," she began, meeting Zuko's golden eyes as they flicked up towards hers, "but no one else has to know. You'd still be safe."

Hope flashed in Zuko's eyes, although he worked quickly to disguise it. This refusal to show emotion intrigued Katara, although she didn't say anything about it. Instead, she issued a warning.

"If you try _anything_-"

"I won't," Zuko promised quickly. "You have my word. I won't betray your trust."

"I wouldn't call it trust," Katara said dismissively, although that was technically what it was. She tucked an errant strand of hair behind her ear. "More a mutual understanding that if you attack us, I'll have you taken away."

Zuko's eyebrow rose. "That sounds like a threat."

"Call it what you want." Katara took a step away, feeling that she was pushing her luck standing there with no means to defend herself. "Either way, that apron looks ridiculous on you."

"What does that have to do with anything?" Zuko asked, self-consciously checking his apron before taking it off.

"Just some friendly advice," Katara shrugged, carefully avoiding what remained of the shop as she tried to inconspicuously leave. Taking her chances, she turned her back on Zuko and had just passed the last of the rubble before she sighed and looked back.

"Thank you," she said, not bothering to await his response.

Zuko watched her retreat, surprised that she would swallow her humility enough to thank him. He would show her, though. He would prove that he could be trusted. As she disappeared around the corner without a backwards glance, Zuko found himself wondering if she'd ever visit the Jasmine Dragon again.

"You're welcome," he replied, far too late.

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**A/N:**

**Hello, hope that you all enjoyed the oneshot. I've been stuck in coursework a lot recently, so I don't have time to do a full fanfic. Don't blame me, blame the English education system.**

**I'd appreciate it if you could review (:**

**Have a great rest of the week,**

**- Momo**


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